Reflections of China!

I have downloaded the last of the pics for the blog and I sit here with tears in my eyes. It is so bittersweet to think we spent an amazingly short time at such a wonderful place. I truly feel like our lives are changed forever because of Hope. I can't imagine our lives even a month ago. I feel so different. Even in the haze of jetlag and it has been rough we are preparing to go back to our ordinary day to day lives. Yes it will be fine but I will have all my joy and experiences of this trip to keep me going until we can go back again to volunteer. Right now we are hoping that the summer of 2009 will be the time to go back. We shall see but in the meantime enjoy the last of the pics and thanks again for following our amazing journey to China.

Love, Shauna and MacLean xo

Home safe and sound!

When we left today it was so hard to do. MacLean and I both cried all the way to the airport. We were both feeling so sad that many of the kids won't be there when we go back in two years. But happy that they are going to be adopted. Anyway nothing really eventful on the trip home. Mac slept for over 7 hours without drugs and I watched In the Land of Women, Blades of Glory and Fractured and some of the Waitress. SO in fact I dozed on and off but didn't really sleep. Our airbus at the Buffalo airport was over an hour late and I finally called and it was on it's way. We arrived home at 2am and have been going through suitcases and assessing any damage. I have one small hand casualty on one of the Terra Cotta Warriors. Not bad considering I brought plates, cups, and lots of breakable stuff. Pretty happy with the baggage and lack of broken stuff. I am just about ready to close mty eyes for a few hours and will post more pics tomorrow.

Thanks again for coming with us on our journey. Thanks also to Lianne for helping me so much on the blog. Take care and chat with most of you soon.

Friday I need to go to school and figure out how to organize our balanced school day. YUCK, oh well gotta work more so we can go back to China for another visit. ''


Love to all,
MacLean and Shauna xoxoxo

One more post before we go!

(If you haven't read yesterday's post yet, scroll down to read before this one.)

It is a beautiful day here in Bei Wu county and we are all ready with suitcases at the door and MacLean getting her last fix of babies. She is very sad and doesn't want to come home but knows that we will come back. She is happy to know that many of the babies get adopted.

We are sad to report that we lost another little baby due to respiratory distress and severe heart failure before she could make it for surgery. She had come from another orphanage to have surgery done and was too sick and died here this morning. Tina who is the nurse asked me to name both the babies for her so the little girl was named Vanessa and the boy Jacob. I felt honoured that they asked me and sat here and said a wee prayer. They are just waiting for someone to come and take the baby to the hospital to have her pronounced dead and do the death certificate and cremation. I shed tears knowing that they didn't even have a name when they died. They did have chinese names but I was happy to give them english names. In China nobody is buried they are cremated.

On a happier note we ventured out with the nannies on their walks today through the village. Most of the pics are from that time. We had a wonderful time walking and the kids were so excited to have us along. We came back to do preschool and then have lunch in the dining room. After lunch we had our swim and then showered in Tina's room. Mac is down in the playrooms and I am just finishing the blog.

See you on the other side of the world. Enjoy the pics.
Love, Shauna and MacLean xo

Goodbye Hope, Goodbye China for now!

Well yesterday was a very emotional day for many reasons.

One of the wee two month old babies was going by train to get surgery in the south and Tina the nurse was taking him. He went into severe Respiratory arrest and passed away. it was so sad for all involved. I had met the little guy the day before and he was so sick. I was crying and could hardly believe what had happened. Then I went into Joyce's office to tell her I would send her a disc of pics and some interactive books for the kids with CP and I started to slobber and cry. It is bittersweet ... I know we have to return to our life but it has been so rewarding and we are sooooo attached to the kids and them to us it has been very hard thinking of saying goodbye.

We managed to get through the day and have a great day. We left at about 4:30 to go to the airport with the gang, Rob, Joyce, Mike, Rose, Katie, Mac and I to pick Tina up and take her out for Indian food for her birthday and for a goodbye dinner for us. It was amazing food and we had a lovely time chatting and sharing stories and just enjoying each others company.

Then back to Hope to do final prep for home and I had loaded pics but no luck getting on the internet. It has been hit and miss this last few days.

Today we are doing preschool, lunch and then a swim we will haul all our bags down to the door at 2:00. We are being dropped off at 3:00 to the airport for our journey home. We will be home sometime in the middle of the night tonight. So we will be in touch in the next few days.

I have to go into school on Friday and try to get sorted out. OUCH that is going to hurt. Thanks for following our journey and I will do a final post somtime in the next day or so from home.

Enjoy the last of the pics of our amazing trip.

Love to all and thanks for coming along with us on our journey to HOPE!
Love, Shauna and MacLean xo

pics from yesterday night